University of Chicago Library

Guide to the Donald F. Lach Papers 1925-1994

Descriptive Summary

Special Collections Research Center
University of Chicago Library
1100 East 57th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637 U.S.A.

Abstract:

Contains the papers of Donald F. Lach, Professor of History at the University of Chicago from 1948 to 1988. Most of the material relates to his work on the influence of Asia on Enlightenment-era Europe, specifically the three volume, nine book Asia in the Making of Europe. The material spans the years 1925-1994, with the bulk dating from 1960 to 1990.

Information on Use

Access

There are several folders of material in Series XI (recommendation letters, graded student work, and administrative records) with 50- or 80-year restrictions. The rest of the collection is open.

Citation

When quoting material from
this collection, the preferred citation is: Lach, Donald F. Papers [Box #, Folder #], Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.

Biographical Note

Donald F. Lach was a professor of history at the University of Chicago and arguably the foremost authority on Asia's influence on the history and development of Modern Europe (circa 1500-1800). He was born in Pittsburgh in 1917 to German immigrants. He received his bachelor's degree from West Virginia University in 1937 and his doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1941. His thesis was titled "Contributions of China to German Civilization, 1648-1740," and portions of it were published in 1944 under the same title. In 1939 Lach married Alma Elizabeth Satorius, who was to become a successful chef and cookbook author. They had one daughter, Sandra Lach Arlinghaus, born in 1943. After completing the PhD, Lach taught at Elmira College and then returned to the University of Chicago in 1948.

Lach received a Fulbright Scholarship to study in France in1949-1950 and a Social Science Research grant to do more work in Europe from 1952 to 1953. During the early 1950s, two books were published of which Lach was co-author: Modern Far Eastern International Relations, with University of Chicago professor Harley Farnsworth MacNair (published in 1950), and Europe and the Modern World with Louis Gottschalk, also at the University of Chicago. Europe and the Modern World was published in two volumes: The Rise of Modern Europe (1951) and The Transformation of Modern Europe (1954). In 1957, Lach published a translation (with commentary) of the preface to Leibniz' Novissima Sinica.

From 1955 to 1956, Lach taught at the National Chegchih University in Taiwan and National Taiwan University and then at the University of Delhi in India from 1967 to 1968. In 1965 Asia on the Eve of Europe's Expansion, a volume of essays co-edited by Lach and a student of his, Carol Flaumenhaft, was published. That year also saw the publication of the first volume of his magnum opus Asia in the Making of Europe. Subtitled "A Century of Discovery," it was published as two books and dealt with contact and interactions between Asia and Europe during the 16th Century. In 1968, several excerpts from this volume were published individually: China in the Eyes of Europe: The Sixteenth Century, India in the eyes of Europe: The Sixteenth Century, Japan in the Eyes of Europe: The Sixteenth Century, and Southeast Asia in the Eyes of Europe: The Sixteenth Century.

In 1969 Lach was named Bernadotte E. Schmitt Professor in History at the University of Chicago. The following year, the first book of the second volume of Asia in the making of Europe came out. Books two and three followed in 1977. Bearing the subtitle "A Century of Advance," this volume explores the influence of 16th-century contact on various aspects of European culture and learning.

A secondary interest of Lach's was the political situation in East Asia in the mid-20th century. In 1975, after a drawn-out publication process, Lach and Edmund S. Wehrle's International politics in East Asia since World War II was released.

Lach retired from teaching in 1988, but continued researching and writing Volume 3 of Asia in the Making of Europe, subtitled "A Century of Advance." This volume was co-authored by Edwin van Kley, a former student of Lach's, and was published in four books in 1993. The third volume treats the relationship between Europe and Asia in the 17th century.

Asia in the Making of Europe is one of the first histories of Europe to give thorough consideration to outside influences on European culture. Lach's treatment of the influence of Asia on Europe in the Modern period considers the effects of discovery and exchange on botany, geography, ethnography, philosophy, history, medicine, and zoology. He studied not only European manuscripts and books, but also art and artifacts and primary Asian sources. Lach was a competent reader not only of French, German, Spanish, and Dutch, but also of Chinese and several other Asian languages. According to his Chicago Tribune obituary, Lach's longhand manuscripts were written with Mongol brand No. 2 pencils, and he had no interest in typewriters or computers (he worked with the assistance of a typist).

A festschrift, Asia and the West: encounters and exchanges from the age of explorations : essays in honor of Donald F. Lach was published in 1986, edited by Cyriac K. Pullapilly and Edwin J. Van Kley. Lach died on October 26, 2000 of stroke and pneumonia, and in 2001 his colleagues, friends, former students, and family established The Donald F. Lach Memorial Book Fund at the University of Chicago Library.

Scope Note

The collection is overwhelmingly comprised of research notes and book drafts. It is organized into 11 series. Detailed series descriptions are found at the beginning of each series in the inventory section of this guide.

Series I, Personal, is quite small, and contains correspondence and ephemera from Lach's family and early life.

Series II, Coursework, contains notes and work from Lach's graduate and undergraduate schooling.

Series III contains personal and professional correspondence not more appropriately classified elsewhere.

Series IV, Professional, contains materials related to meetings, lectures, grants and other professional activities, organized into three subseries: General, Professional Meetings and Lectures, and Grants and Awards.

Series V, Research, contains government publications and periodicals, articles, and notes related to Lach's main research interests. It is divided into two subseries, dealing with these two main areas of interest: 20th-century Asian economic and socio-poitical issues, and the impact of Asia on Enlightenment- and Modern-era Europe.

Series VI, Writings, mostly consists of drafts and other materials related to Asia in the Making of Europe, which make up Subseries 1. Subseries 2 contains drafts, offprints and other materials related to Lach's other scholarly writings. The bulk of the material in the collection is contained in Subseries 2 of Series V and Subseries 1 of Series VI – namely, that material pertaining to Asia in the Making of Europe and related research.

Series VII, Teaching, consists of three subseries containing student correspondence and work, course notes and lectures, and administrative material.

Series VIII, Writings by Others, contains articles written by others and collected by or given to Lach.

Series IX, Photographs and Slides, contains snapshots, slides, film, and other negatives.

INVENTORY

Series I: Personal

This series contains personal ephemera (including early correspondence), unrelated to career or coursework, arranged chronologically.

Box 1 Folder 1

Correspondence/Ephemera, 1935

Box 1 Folder 2

Correspondence – Lach Family, 1940

Box 1 Folder 3

Correspndence – Alma Lach, 1944-1947

Box 1 Folder 4

"The Golden Bells" – Dorothea Dugan, undated

Box 1 Folder 5

Script: "Two Crooks and a Lady," McCraby, undated

Series II: Coursework

This series contains notes taken and papers written by Lach during his time in undergraduate and graduate school. Notes are grouped by topic/course (as originally labeled) and arranged alphabetically. Papers follow notes, and thesis material is at the end of the series.

Series III: Correspondence

This series contains personal and professional correspondence not specifically regarding Lach's collaborative work or teaching. Most is arranged chronologically, with some smaller selections classified by correspondent (within the overall chronological order). Correspondence regarding and with students is in Series VII: Teaching.

Box 3 Folder 15

Correspondence – General, 1941-1953

Box 3 Folder 16

Correspondence – General, 1948-1949

Box 3 Folder 17

Correspondence – General, 1950

Box 3 Folder 18

Correspondence – General, 1951

Box 3 Folder 19

Correspondence – General, 1952

Box 3 Folder 20

Correspondence – General, 1953

Box 3 Folder 21

Correspondence – General, 1955-1957

Box 3 Folder 22

Correspondence – General, 1958

Box 4 Folder 1

Correspondence – General, 1959

Box 4 Folder 2

Correspondence – General, 1960

Box 4 Folder 3

Correspondence – General, 1961-1962

Box 4 Folder 4

Correspondence – Edwin van Kley, 1961-1967

Box 4 Folder 5

Correspondence – General, 1963-1964

Box 4 Folder 6

Correspondence – General, 1965

Box 4 Folder 7

Correspondence – General, 1966

Box 4 Folder 8

Correspondence – General, 1967-1969

Box 4 Folder 9

Correspondence – Edwin van Kley, 1970-1972

Box 4 Folder 10

Correspondence – General,1970-1971

Box 4 Folder 11

Correspondence – General, 1972

Box 4 Folder 12

Correspondence – General, 1973

Box 4 Folder 13

Correspondence – General, 1974

Box 4 Folder 14

Correspondence – Edwin van Kley, 1974-1982

Box 4 Folder 15

Correspondence – General, 1975

Box 5 Folder 1

Correspondence – General, 1976

Box 5 Folder 2

Correspondence – General, 1977

Box 5 Folder 3

Correspondence – General, 1978

Box 5 Folder 4

Correspondence – General, 1979

Box 5 Folder 5

Correspondence – General, 1980

Box 5 Folder 6

Correspondence – United Nations University, 1981-1983

Box 5 Folder 7

Correspondence – General, 1981

Box 5 Folder 8

Correspondence – General, 1982

Box 5 Folder 9

Correspondence – General, 1983

Box 5 Folder 10

Correspondence – General, 1984

Box 5 Folder 11

Correspondence – General, 1985

Box 6 Folder 1

Correspondence – General, 1986

Box 6 Folder 2

Correspondence – General, 1987

Box 6 Folder 3

Correspondence – General, 1988

Box 6 Folder 4

Correspondence – General, 1989-1990

Box 6 Folder 5

Correspondence – General, 1992-1994

Series IV: Professional

This series contains conference materials, transcripts of symposia and round table discussions, public lectures and other talks, grants and awards, and other materials collected by Lach over the course of his career. It is arranged in three subseries. Subseries 1, General, contains brochures, book catalogs, clippings, newsletters and other ephemera, arranged chronologically to the extent possible. Subseries 2, Professional Meetings and Lectures, contains schedules, abstracts, and transcripts from conferences and symposia, radio panel discussions, and talks and interviews, arranged chronologically to the extent possible. Subseries 3, Grants and Awards, contains grant application materials, financial documents and other material related to monetary and other awards, arranged chronologically to the extent possible.

"Asia in the Making of Europe: New Research Opportunities" – Speech Drafts, Correspondence, Newsletter, 1970

Subseries 3, Grants and Awards

Box 8 Folder 14

European Travel Grant – Correspondence, Ledgers, Receipts, 1954-1956

Box 8 Folder 15

Grant Applications (University of Chicago), 1961

Box 8 Folder 16

Financial Ledgers/Vouchers – Doner Research Grant, 1965

Box 8 Folder 17

Carnegie Fellowship proposal and Drafts, 1966

Box 8 Folder 18

Correspondence and Proposal – Social Science Research Committee Grant, 1966-1967

Box 8 Folder 19

Grant – NEH – Correspondence and Proposal, 1972

Small Box: Name Tags, 1983, undated

Box 9 Folder 1

Correspondence and Materials – Guggenheim Fellowship, 1984-1986

Series V: Research

This series contains research materials collected by Lach over the course of his career, as well as his research and bibliographic notes. It is divided into subseries as follows. Subseries 1, 20th Century Asia, contains periodicals, government and other political publications, directories, and other materials collected by Lach. These materials concern the political, cultural and economic situation in China and other East Asian countries in the mid-twentieth century, and so are somewhat removed from Lach's main area of scholarly expertise. Materials are arranged chronologically, with the exception of several oversize periodicals contained in Series X.

Subseries 2, Asia and Modern Europe, largely contains research and bibliographic notes (many on note cards and 5" x 5" slips of paper). Materials in this subseries relate to the main subject of Lach's scholarly work, the history of Europe and Asia in the Enlightenment/Modern period, and Asia's influence on the formation of Modern Europe. Notes and bibliographic information were compiled both by Lach and by various research assistants, and most of the notes are keyed to the source. This subseries also contains newspaper clippings, photocopied articles, maps and other research materials, and collected source images. Additionally, Lach produced many typed transcripts of 15th-17th-century books and letters while at the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris in the 1950s. The title pages (or initial pages in the case of letters) of those transcripts are included here. In cases where the transcript includes notes in or accompanying the text, the entire text is included. It is worth noting that several of these volumes, as well as other primary sources consulted by Lach, can now be found in the Rare Book Collection at the University of Chicago.

Articles appear first in the subseries, then images and other research material, followed by translations and transcripts. Assorted notes follow, then notes on small slips of paper, arranged alphabetically by topic (the original topic labeling has been kept). At the end of this subseries are 17 boxes of note cards – first those with notes and then those with bibliographic information. Their original topical groupings have been preserved, and cards are arranged alphabetically by topic.

Series VI: Writing

This series contains notes, manuscripts, typescripts, galleys, and proofs of Lach's major work, Asia in the Making of Europe, reprints of articles authored or co-authored by Lach, and publicity material for his works. It is divided into two subseries.

Subseries 1: Asia in the Making of Europe contains correspondence, notes, manuscript and typescript drafts, proofs and galleys, prints of illustrations to be included in the books, reviews, and other materials related to Lach's three-volume work. Reviews, interviews, and materials related to the work as a whole (i.e., materials that do not contain the text of AME) are at the front. Large-format clippings, reviews, and images are contained in Series X. Drafts, proofs and images follow, grouped by volume, book, and chapter. Draft sections that could not be matched to a particular volume or book are at the end of the subseries. Though much of the material is undated, material is arranged more or less chronologically at the chapter level, so that manuscripts come before galleys, for example. Large-format images and reviews in tabloid-format periodicals are in Series X, and negatives on film are in Series IX.

Subseries 2, Other Scholarly Writings, contains manuscripts and typescripts of Lach's other books, articles, and scholarly lectures, as well as journals containing and offprints of articles authored or co-authored by Lach, arranged chronologically to the extent possible. There is a fair amount of undated material, which is arranged alphabetically by title. There is one draft of what appears to be an unpublished book that is both undated and untitled. It is included here though there is a possibility that it is a draft of a student's thesis.

Subseries 1: Asia in the Making of Europe

Box 48 Folder 1

Correspondence – Reproduction Permissions for Asia in the Making of Europe, Vol. I, 1964

Box 48 Folder 2

Publicity Material – Asia in the Making of Europe, Vols. I and II, 1964-1977

Series VII: Teaching

This series contains syllabi and course materials, lectures, student dissertation proposals and other student work (except where restricted), and committee work. The series is divided into three subseries: Students, Courses, and Administrative.

Subseries 1, Students, contains correspondence with and regarding students, their dissertation proposals and other student papers. Because most of the correspondence is with about a dozen students, it is arranged alphabetically by correspondent, with a few "general" folders at the end. Papers, proposals, and dissertation drafts follow, also alphabetically by student. It appears that all students are from the University of Chicago.

Subseries 2, Courses, contains course materials, such as syllabi, bibliographies, class rosters, and lecture notes for classes taught by Lach. Material is grouped by course and arranged alphabetically by course title. All courses are from Lach's time at the University of Chicago unless otherwise indicated.

Subseries 3, Administrative, contains departmental memos, meeting minutes, committee reports, and other materials related to Lach's professional and administrative duties at the University of Chicago. Materials in this subseries are arranged chronologically.

Series VIII: Writings by Others

This series contains papers by others, from symposia, journals, books, etc., that do not appear to be research materials explicitly tied by Lach to a particular one of his projects. They are arranged alphabetically by author.

Series IX: Photographs and Slides

This series contains photo reproductions and slides of artwork (some of it intended for use in Asia in the Making of Europe), snapshots of Lach and others, and film negatives. In some cases there is accompanying descriptive material or correspondence. Dated items appear first, arranged chronologically, followed by undated items.

Advertisements -- Asia in the Making of Europe, Vols. I and II, 1968-1970

Box 109 Folder 9

New York Times Book Review -- Asia in the Making of Europe, Vol. II, 1978

Box 109 Folder 10

New Clippings – "Judge Dee" Novels, 1980

Box 109 Folder 11

Images – undated

Box 109 Folder 12

Images -- Asia in the Making of Europe, undated

Box 109 Folder 13

Image Negative, undated

Series XI: Restricted

This series contains material with various restrictions. Boxes 110-111 are restricted for 80 years from date of record creation, with the exception of Folders 25-26, and 29 of Box 110, and Folders 6, and 12-13 of Box 111 which are restricted for 50 years from date of record creation. Items are arranged chronologically.